Minister's Musings

This is the blog for Rev. Susan Karlson who is the minister at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island in New York since September 1, 2008. She has served as a Unitarian Universalist minister in Gulfport, Mississippi and Wilmington, NC. Susan is a clinical social worker as well and was an ordained minister of yoga in a galaxy long ago and far away.

Monday, March 25, 2013

When I take the
Myers-Briggs Personality test I score just one data point over the line that
says I am an extrovert. Yesterday when I
arrived at Midland Beach for the Walk a Mile in Our Shoes Rally and March for solidarity
in continuing the the Sandy Recovery efforts my introverted side thought, “Oh
no, I am going to be here all alone. This is going to be really awkward”. Then someone said “Have you signed in
yet? We want to know everyone who is
here.” Organizers offered me a hazmat
suit if I wanted to put it on, a shovel and a construction hat. I met people I know from the Long Term
Recovery Group. Our El Centro friends got in the spirit, donning
black plastic bags and spray paint to play the part of black mold monsters. We began to laugh, talk and take photos of
each other. And then I saw Eric and Lucas, new members of this church.

My fears were
unfounded. I belonged there. I had a part to play. Though we come from different cultures with
vastly different experiences and yearnings we are one. We chanted the Chilean motto—“El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.” “The people united will never be
defeated.”

Fear can destroy your
spirit. It can weaken your commitment;
leave you feeling purposeless and aimless.
Fear enters when we are disconnected from that which feeds our spirit,
when we feel set apart, lonely, fatigued, and hopeless. You don’t need to be an immigrant to feel
that. You don’t need to be in prison or
hungry or homeless. The antidote is
expressed in the chant—“The people united will never be defeated.” I believe it is useful here at church as
well. It’s part of our theme for this
stewardship campaign—“Growing stronger—together!”

Not that we all think alike, believe
alike or feel alike but that we come together for something larger; some vision
that captures our imagination, our focus and arrests our hearts. Kahlil Gibran, expresses our common purpose
this way,: “and he who has deserved to
drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little
stream”.

A nifty little bit of theology in that one
sentence fragment—it is a reflection of the first and seventh principles of
Unitarian Universalism –the ones about our interconnectedness and our
worthiness. In a world that seems to cry
out to us, “you are so unworthy!”, Gibran shouts another message—“no, don’t you
see—if you are born out of the “ocean of life” then you are connected to that
cup of life that flows from your next door neighbor’s stream. You are all in this together. You are not
alone.”

This is stewardship Sunday and so
we’re considering how to support the church.
How does the Unitarian Church of Staten Island call to you? The Psalmist in Psalm 42 inspires me, saying
“Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your
billows have gone over me. Why are you
cast down, O my Soul? Hope in God.” I recall times in my life when I have felt
case down, paralyzed by fear, almost sunk beneath the waves of despair, unable
to see a clear path, a wider vision. But
then something comes—it can be God coming in the thundering waves but more
often it’s a community spirit, something that lifts me up, someone that reminds
me about the “ocean of life” we are all born into.

I understand “deep calls to deep” in
the broadest possible terms—that something holds me and loves me even when I
feel I am the most unlovable. Something
deep inside recognizes my worth and my being-ness. And in feeling that unconditional love for
myself, I also know that it extends to those around me and those I may never
know. That message of “deep calling to
deep” is in the Unitarian Church of Staten Island and it’s in each of us in all
our diversity, in all the places we come from and all the places we grow
towards.

We are at a spell of hard times in
this church. The good news is that we
recognize it and will be talking about it. It is not time to hit the panic
button, as if this church is dying. With
all respect, I don’t believe that. We
are engaged in a process of change and revision. We are diagnosing where we
have come to and where we are heading.
Our future trajectory may be uncertain but we are certainly not facing
the final curtain.

The Unitarian Church of Staten Island will not be the same as it’s always been.
Change is scary. The Taurus in me likes
to know the lay of the land, to plant my feet, to know what I face just ahead
because change can be scary. But without change, comes stagnation. Nothing new can grow. If we impose what we know from the past on
the present, we resist the future. As was
expressed in the webinar on “Part Time Minister, Full time church” that some of
the Board members attended the other night, opportunities abound and hope and
energy along with them. The possibility
of change itself creates opportunities and new growth.

I read an article in the spring issue
of the UU World, the Unitarian Universalist national magazine (which by the way, mentions
us in several paragraphs and our work post Sandy) about the Unitarian Church of
Sharon, Massachusetts that struggled as a lay led church for most of the nineteenth
and twentieth century, dipping from its norm of 70 members down to 40 members, its
1842 building in disrepair and its funds almost non-existent. Then they had a consultant come in who
listened to them and said, “Maybe you should call yourselves the First
Masochist Church. You’re beating
yourselves up for the things you’re not, instead of appreciating the wonderful
community you are.” Well that got them
going. They began to climb their way up
and now they are a breakthrough thriving congregation. It’s taken them about 30 years and a great
deal of intentionality.

I think we sometimes beat ourselves up
like that. We dwell on what we don’t do
or can’t do. We talk about all that challenges us and keeps us stuck. We seldom celebrate all that we are—which is
an exceptional, beautiful church with so many good spirited and committed souls,
doing incredible, creative, compassionate and just work—living, loving and
growing together.

Now I do believe deep down that we
need to be taking a very deep look at our financial situation. We need to address our dwindling reserves. I’ve been saying that for the past four years
and I’ll say it again. We need to assess
very carefully and plan and budget and increase our giving if people can. That’s why the pledge cards will appear in
your order of service every week and we encourage you to fill them out and
welcome the steward who will talk to you about giving to this church that needs
each one of us and all of us together.

We need your
support but we also need to set priorities and create a vision out of what
matters most to us, how we see ourselves—what unites us as a people. And we need to work and communicate together,
respectfully, lovingly, with our whole hearts.
We have an opportunity to do that next month at the All Church Retreat
on April 13th when the Rev. Peggy Clarke will be our
facilitator. I would hope that every
person who is not ill or has to work or sit beside an ailing friend or relative
will be here for that Retreat. It is
that important. We need everyone to show
up so that we can begin planning the future that will affect all for whom this
church is a spiritual home or plays some important part in their lives.

The minister in
Sharon, Massachusetts, the Rev. Jim Robinson, asked everyone when he arrived at
the church, “What would you be passionate about creating?” (Sharon’s
Breakthrough by Donald E.
Skinner, p. 33-35 (spring 2013). I will share
with you my passions and my vision in April;
what I think will help reinforce our relevance and our future now that
we are very much in the public eye with our efforts around Sandy Recovery. I want to know what you are passionate about
here at the church. Imagine what we can create together, what we can sustain
together, what inspires us individually and collectively. Deciding who we are and what we want to
prioritize in the years ahead will help us build a sustainable budget and a
strong church.

Imagine that we are the church that
welcomes people; that makes people feel that we’ve been waiting all of our
lives for them; that we are a more joyful community when we are all here
together. We will build a place of
welcome for children even if we don’t have any young ones at home because they
are all our children. We will build a
place of welcome for those who have accessibility challenges and those
concerned about the future of the earth.

We are the Little Big Church because
we do so much even though we are so small in numbers. We have a grand history and a bright future. No
matter what the future brings, the Unitarian Church of Staten Island will be a
beacon of religious liberalism in Staten Island. We are not alone. We have a place here among
one another as the deepest part of ourselves calls to others. If we change just one little word in that
Chilean motto, we get a motto that can help us grow stronger together—“The
people united can never be defeated.”

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Margarito, Alfredo, Susan, Gonzalo, Nallely, Ixta, Eric, and Lucas from El Centrodel Inmigrante and partners from the Unitarian Church on Staten Island get readyto Walk a Mile In Our Shoes (dressed as Black Mold Monsters and Hazmatted andConstruction hatted Standing on the Side of Love sweatshirt Recovery volunteers

Yellow Team member and Aiman speak about damage to Midland Beach andworking together for recovery alongside the Occupy Band

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Unitarian Church of Staten Island has had a partnership with El Centro del Inmigrante for the past three years now. Our Board voted to become friends of El Centro back then and we have been fine tuning what it means to be community friends and partners ever since. When El Centro's Executive Director, Gonzalo Mercado, and I first spoke about developing a partnership and a friendship, he made it clear that this would be a mutually beneficial relationship--a two way relationship that would benefit and empower us all. El Centro and the Unitarian Church of Staten Island have worked together during Community Days to clean up a neighborhood on the North Shore; they have helped clean up the church grounds and sung with us on Christmas Eve one year when we celebrated Las Posadas. El Centro provided classes and space for a number of us to learn Spanish (and we hope they can continue offering these classes again in the future).Gonzalo Mercado participated in our workshops on Immigration as a Moral Issue.

Day laborers providing relief cleaning debris

Workers Distribute Donations

Weekly Day laborer volunteer brigade--preparing supplies

Thanksgiving Meal organized for the Sandy Survivors

One of three Sandy help days organized for victims with the Mexican Consulate, FEMA, Red Cross and other agencies

When I look at these photos and watch the video below, I become aware of the connections we build together; each giving what we can, each opening wide the door for greater compassion, to alleviate suffering, and to empower one another to service, growth and the healing power of love.

This Storm is a tragedy that I can not even come close to describing and I am among the most privileged to live and work on the North Shore which was not as keenly impacted. This church itself also suffered very little damage, a few downed limbs and losing power for a few days--that's all. Yet it is when I consider how one person took in their neighbor who lost everything but their life and their pet, how another person saw that the seniors were suffering and they helped rebuild a house for them, how people came out by the hundreds though they had no gas, heat or electricity to do what they could--it is these stories and dozens of others we hear on Staten Island and that real people experience--that reminds me how connected we are. In spite of geographical distance, language, religion, culture, race--all of these differences that are often used to build wedges between us, we are building something beautiful out of the rubble and the desecration of Sandy. Our long term recovery group is growing and answering more of the needs of people. People from organizations and congregations are referring to one another when they discern a need that someone else can fill.

El Centro del Inmigrante found many undocumented immigrants who were suffering, some who did not qualify for services or financial assistance because of their status. El Centro is its people-- strong, resilient people who help each other and the wider community. I remember the violence of the summer of 2010 when many immigrants were being beaten (as well as Russians, a gay couple, and Muslims targeted and demeaned as they tried to purchase property for a mosque and open a community center)--members of El Centro, some of the very men who had been beaten--were always there at vigils with their families, praying to end the violence and to work together to make Staten Island a place that is welcoming and safe for all. It is these memories that make me proud that the Unitarian Church of Staten Island that I serve has chosen to be partners with El Centro del Inmigrante--not just the organization but the people. May our relationships sustain us and transform our lives and cultures to make Staten Island the beloved community we seek.

Friday, January 11, 2013

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Susquehanna Valley (UUCSV) in Northumberland, Pennsylvania lights a chalice every week as do so many other Unitarian Universalist congregations. They light a second chalice for the Unitarian Church of Staten Island and Staten Island, hit so hard by Hurricane Sandy.

In the early weeks after the storm unleashed her fury on much of the Northeast, the Rev. Ann Keeler Evans and Scott Rubin (UUCSV) reached out to the Unitarian Church of Staten Island (UCSI), offering to leverage their grocery card purchases to help out Staten Island. Realizing that they are a small congregation (just like the Unitarian Church of Staten Island), they wanted to concentrate their resources most effectively to help in the aftermath of the storm. They also experienced serious flooding in a storm so they knew what it was like. Over the past six weeks, they have been sending grocery cards at first; then as the needs changed, they got Home Depot cards and as the requests come in for Sears cards, they will supply us those as well. They get the cards at a reduced rate and then are able to purchase more dollars worth of gift cards which they pass on to Staten Island. Recently, I told them about a need for one of the Catholic Churches that provides hot meals for Sandy families who ran out of funding to buy food and they immediately sent grocery cards to help out. When they send a batch of cards, I am in touch with various groups on Staten Island and disperse them where they are needed. They have provided thousands and thousands of dollars of help here on Staten Island through their generosity and love and they tell me they plan to keep an ongoing relationship with our church and with Staten Island. They have indeed been a source of compassion and strength as the Unitarian Church of Staten Island struggles to provide some relief from the storm. We plan to visit one another's churches sometime in the spring--an incredible example of our congregational polity!

Other Unitarian Universalist congregations, individuals and community members have sent along checks, brought donations and even delivered 40 bunk beds to Staten Island. All Souls Church in Manhattan donated their annual toy collection to Staten Island and they will go to one of our partner organizations and friends, El Centro del Inmigrante, who have identified 150 immigrant families on Staten Island in serious need after Sandy hit our shores (my next blog will be totally about the great work and wonderful service that El Centro del Inmigrante, a day labor organization, is doing on Staten Island). The Central East Regional Group (CERG) fund has helped out two families on Staten Island that we requested aid for. And the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, a church of only 100 members or so, has raised funds for CERG and for helping out our members, friends and community members who lost their homes and apartments during the storm. We also connected medical doctors and nurses from Mt. Sinai to Staten Island to help provide medical care for families in need.Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church in Racine, Wisconsin sent gift cards of various kinds for two families in Staten Island related to one of our members.

As I said in the opening weeks after Sandy, our members have helped muck out and pack up houses devastated by Sandy. In fact, I find out more all the time about people who are part of the wider community on Staten Island who only recently tell us what happened to them. Members have opened their houses to people in the community, been willing to provide hospitality and have worked with a number of grassroots organizations like Occupy Sandy Staten Island, Staten Island Strong and so many others. We have sorted clothes and organized them at the Castleton Hills Moravian Church in preparation for a gigantic clothes distribution in February. Some friends of the church lost their jobs because of their volunteer work. We held a fundraiser for Sandy efforts through our monthly Soulful Sundown and heard from bands and speakers about the impact of Grassroots Volunteer Organizations on Recovery Efforts. This church houses weekly meetings of what we hope will soon be a Long Term Recovery Group on Staten Island initiated by the Staten Island Clergy Leadership. Today we had 50 or more people at our meeting which ended with a viewing of Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address--hoping to hear what he had to say about Sandy recovery and assistance from the state. Regardless of his State of the State message, we will remind our elected officials to keep recovery efforts and remediation among the top priorities in the State of New York.

The Unitarian Church of Staten Island's Parish Hall full of clergy, community service organizations and organizers working on coordinating long term recovery efforts on Staten Island

This outpouring of love, generosity and good will from people across the country and from fellow Unitarian Universalists is an affirmation of how we can serve to build the Beloved Community--by being there for one another in our individual communities and then spreading that love and care out as widely as possible. One act of love grows and grows when it is linked to that of our sister churches and when we serve our neighbors, those we do not know and can only imagine in our hearts and souls.

May all be blessed with a sense of unity and common cause during this beautiful season, with all the suffering and tragedy near and far and around the world. If ever we needed to see how we are all interconnected, it is now as we reel from the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and the devastation wrought by Sandy.

A big thanks to all of these people, congregations and organizations who gave of their time, talent and treasure (in no particular order). For privacy, I am leaving out the last names of individuals but I hope you know who you are. In the chaotic early days after the storm, many people volunteered or donated and we did not get your names. We also thank all of you anonymous donors and volunteers who came in touch with us but we failed to get your name. We are grateful to you all :

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley (UUCSV), Northumberland, PA, where past storms devastated their counties continue to send thousands and thousands of dollars worth of gift cards for Stop and Shop, Home Depot and Sears to UCSI and establishing an ongoing relationship and commitment between Staten Island and Northumberland, PA

All Souls Church, Manhattan via the Rev. Lissa Gundlach—truckload of donations and volunteers on many dates

Unitarian Church of Staten Island--space for donations, meetings of SI Clergy Leadership, coordination and referral of donations and volunteers, work with Occupy Sandy SI and El Centro, mittens, socks, hats and scarves to El Centro, church volunteers muck out on numerous dates, help members and friends clean out and pack up, and provide shelter for displaced people and for volunteers, work on Long term recovery groups and with other organizations to advocate and move forward with recovery efforts

Castleton Moravian via Pastor Lynnette Delbridge, took many loads of clothes, sorted and boxed them and will give away in January, fixed hot food for volunteers at the Unitarian Church of SI

Vanderbilt Ave. Moravian Church, cooked food

Mario B, hot cooked food

Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville, MD—cards and letters of support, Rockville, MD

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

It is difficult to describe the New Year's elation at seeing three turkeys here on the North Shore of Staten Island. There have been many articles in the paper over the past five years I've been here about Staten Island turkeys; concern for one vulnerable turkey or another--people's good will and care to see that turkey was ok. Staten Island turkeys are a bit of an icon if you ask me. They used to hang out near the door to the Heart Tower of Staten Island University Hospital North (which is ironically not on the North Shore). Occasionally I would see them outside a nursing home where one of our members resides. I knew they spread out along the South Shore. People often got out of their cars or made a path toward the turkeys with their camera in tow. Enter Hurricane Sandy and lots of people started mumbling, "where are the turkeys? Did they die in the storm or just move elsewhere?"

I saw a flock of turkeys (I forgot what you call a group of turkeys) near Tastebuds on Hylan Boulevard about three weeks after Sandy destroyed so much of Staten Island's South Shore. I was so glad to see them--a sign like the rainbow, of survival, of grace, of determination and perseverance, of nature realigning itself. I shared that I had seen them with some others and everyone expressed delight about that little population of turkeys. Today's New Year's Day turkeys are yet another sign of hope for us here. These turkeys are clearly in my neighborhood on the North Shore near a little neighborhood park. They approached Lilly, my dog, and I as we walked an unusual path this morning. They kept coming nearer and nearer until she barked at them a bit. They gobbled and pretty much stayed where they were. Later they just walked up this ramp outside a house. We were on the sidewalk in front of that house. A few minutes later, the male turkey preened his feathers and lay down. The females remained standing, nibbling at choice
leaves you can see here in the photo. These turkeys were a gift of grace, resilience and a touch of mystery--somehow these turkeys pulled through and are looking for a new home. Maybe they were always here but I never saw them. They give me hope for the future, for our ability to recover and care for one another and extend our compassion to the animals that were also displaced and traumatized by Sandy. It is a good sign that this New Year 2013 brings the return of the turkeys. I am so glad they are here!

It was a normal day, just
like any other. People woke up, got out
of bed, ate breakfast, kissed their loved ones and headed out the door. There was a tension in the air
though—something just didn’t feel right.
And then it happened—it was a powerful, relentless force that tore
through people’s lives and changed them forever.

They lost
everything! No lights, no home; some died under the pummeling force. In the days that followed, nothing looked
familiar. The usual course of their days
and nights altered beyond recognition. And
yet somehow they refused to yield, to be taken down. They were unbreakable. Unstoppable. They became a force of nature. And though they lost so much, in the way that
miracles happen, things they needed to start again, showed up. People met on the sidewalk, offering what
little they had to others that lost more.
People came from far away and found a wedding ring, a treasured
photograph, the minister that married them 30 years ago—fragments and memories
of their former lives had not all washed out to sea.

This could be any catastrophe but this one’s name was
Sandy-she was the most powerful force this Island has reckoned with and though
she moved on, “HER” story is incomplete.
His name was Antiochus the IV. He wanted to extend his empire and knew the only way to do that would be to force
the people to be more uniform, less diverse and accepting of one another’s differences. He used his mighty power and yet the story of
Hanukkah tells us that he did not triumph over that small band of Maccabees.

Two super powers—one, ancient; the other, recent; one, human;
the other, natural. Two forces—the
Maccabees living in the country, and all the neighborhoods, faith communities,
community groups springing up everywhere, organizing, caring for one
another. You could say that these two
forces were uncompromising, unstoppable, unbreakable, against all odds.

After the crisis came the miracles—the oil lasting for eight
nights when it should only last one, and people kindling that indomitable
spirit to support one another and work together even with all the mountains of claims
and inadequate, unsafe and little or no available and affordable housing.

The light did not go out—not then, not now. We light candles and we light chalices
because they speak to us in what evolutionary spiritual leaders like Michael
Dowd call, “night language”, the language of metaphor and story. They tell us what we need to remember when we
are assaulted; when we would give up or sell out. The stories strengthen us for the struggles
we encounter when mighty forces assail us, whether those forces are external
like Antiochus or Sandy or internal, the lurking enemy within.

This year our church theme is the Chalice Year and we are reflecting on
what the Chalice means to us as a symbol of Unitarian Universalism, of this
church. I have not told the story of The
Chalice as a symbol in some time and it seems a good time to share it with you.
This story really happened but perhaps it is also the stuff of legends—telling
Unitarian Universalists and those who come through our doors what is paramount
to us as a people like the miracle of “there was just enough oil for burning”
is to the Jewish people.

During World War II, many people in Eastern Europe feared
imprisonment or killing by the Nazi soldiers.
A Unitarian minister, Charles Joy, helped organize a Unitarian Service
Committee. The Service Committee worked with agents and governments to connect
people with the help they needed but people spoke many different languages and
so Joy felt that they needed some symbol that would look official and let
people know these people could be trusted.
He commissioned cartoonist Hans Deutsch to do just that. Deutsch had himself escaped persecution in
Paris France after he made cartoons depicting Hitler and the Nazis.

Deutsch chose an age old symbol from Czechoslovakia of a
chalice with a flame. The chalice as a
symbol reminded people of offering drink to a thirsty soul while the flame
showed the fire of commitment and helping.
As a symbol, the flaming chalice worked well and years later, became
known and used all over the world. By the 1970’s, it was in use by
congregations across the country.

But one of the most inspiring stories came from a woman from
Czechoslovakia imprisoned in a camp during the war. She said that the chalice of her homeland had
a motto written under it: “pravda vietei”—“truth overcomes”. Every morning, she drew a chalice in the sand
with her finger and under it, she wrote those words in her native language. They gave her strength and helped her to
endure. She imagined that someday “the
world would know that every person is important and should be free.”

The flaming chalice is not simply a lovely image of candles
aglow; it has great depth and meaning.
It can remind people what Unitarian Universalism stands for—its principles,
not some dried up rules we “must” obey but living acts of courage and
compassion surrounded by a sense of wonder and awe at this universe we share.

Lighting the Menorah is a ritual—enacted very deliberately,
placing each candle in from right to left and lighting them with the Shamus
candle from left to right. Lighting a
Chalice is so simple by comparison but it is a cherished tradition in this
church and in most Unitarian Universalist congregations. Sometime last year, I lost track of the exact
date, our Chalice had a literal meltdown.
It was made out of pewter and it burned
itself up. Great holes punctuated the
metal and thankfully, it did not burn the building or our beloved Steve who
noticed its high flame and carried it outside.

The Chalice as a symbol is only powerful
if we talk about what

we
see in that flame or reflect on why this church endures and should continue
well into the future. Can it become a
living symbol for us like it was for the woman from what is now the Czech
Republic? I chose this Chalice necklace
from hundreds twenty or thirty I saw at our annual meeting called General
Assembly. I spoke to the artists who created it to honor an octogenarian whose
helping hands inspired them. It has two hands
cupped and reaching out. It resonates
for me with the story of the Flaming Chalice and of the essence of Unitarian
Universalism’s commitment to freedom, spiritual growth and service.

Powerful winds blow in our lives. They
shake our foundations; they chill us to the core. Surge waters rise—they force us to summon up
stamina we never thought we had. It is
the community spirit that brought us together and keeps us together despite
nor’easters and hurricanes. It is the
“oil of gladness” that “dissolves all mourning”. It is the spirit of generosity and ingenuity
that summons us to acts of kindness, opening up homes to people who lost their
homes or seeing how someone fares after surgery and asking that we struggle
with the “devastations”, whether old or new.

The task before us in this church is
herculean—it is to find enough oil to keep the Chalice lit, to make sure our
doors remain open wide in welcome for generations to come. It is to keep our treasured traditions alive
if they are still potent and inspire others to create new traditions, and bright
visions. And it is for all of us to make
sure we don’t let the light go out—it has lasted for so many years. Let it shine through our love and our tears.”